Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Evelyn Towry's tantrums are apparently so fearsome it takes a deputy and handcuffs to restrain her.

Little 8-year-old Evelyn Towry just wanted to be able to go to the party like all the other kids. But for some reason, a teacher at the Boise third-grader's elementary school wouldn't let her while she was wearing her favorite sweatshirt, a hoodie that her mom had sewn cow ears on to look like a cartoon character. Instead, the teacher put Evelyn in a classroom and asked two staffers to watch her and make sure she didn't leave.

This wasn't cool with Evelyn. She tried to leave the room but staffers blocked her path. And it was then that her parents say their daughter -- who has Asperger's, a high-functioning form of autism -- freaked out.

According to the staffers, Evelyn spit on and "inappropriately touched" her two guards. Probably the kind of behavior that happens every day in schools all across the country. And likely not to leave a mark unless the kid happens to be the daughter of an NFL lineman which, based on these pictures, she is not.

But the panicked flailing of a scared little girl was apparently too much for the grown-ups to handle on this day. As the school's principal called police and asked to have Evelyn arrested on suspicion of battery.

The cops, presumably not possessing a single critical-thinking bone in their bodies, went along with the administrator's wacky demand, patting and frisking Evelyn before putting her in what we can only imagine were kiddie-sized handcuffs

A prosecutor wisely refused to press charges. And Evelyn was released to her parents before having to spend too much time in the county's juvenile lockup.

They're now suing the school district and the sheriff's department for violating the Americans With Disabilities Act. But really, it'd be just as accurate to say they're suing for a lack of common sense.

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